Gentle jibes that they're boring, humorless and in need of sartorial rehab are just part of being a certified public accountant.

But since the collapse of Enron, the integrity of the entire profession has become fodder for jokes, and that's no laughing matter. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, an industry trade group that represents 350,000 CPAs, has launched a $2 million advertising campaign to set things right.

The AICPA began running ads in early March in several daily newspapers, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News. It also has been running radio spots in cities in all 50 states, said Geoffrey Pickard, spokesman for the AICPA. The campaign will run for a couple more weeks, he said.

"We are doing this because people in the profession felt that the Enron fallout had unfairly given the entire profession a black eye," Mr. Pickard said. "The message is simply this: Don't indict the entire profession for the possible misdeeds of a handful of members."

That's at least the implied message of the advertisements. The actual wording is a bit more subtle, something more like, well, an accountant would write. The ads begin: "Each day every day. In big cities and small towns. Away from the headlines. We are here."

Things really get rolling with the next three lines: "Auditing financial statements. Providing tax services. And delivering business insight."

And then the big finish: "Counted on for our integrity. Passionate about getting it right. And intolerant of those who break the rules. We depend on your trust and work to earn it each day, every day."

It may not be poetry, but it gets the point across, and rank-and-file accountants seem to like the ads, Mr. Pickard said.

"The vast majority of our members have told us they appreciate the ads and to keep it up," he said.

Ken Sibley, a Dallas CPA at Sibley & Co., said he's heard the radio spot several times, and he applauds the effort because it makes the very important point that the vast majority of CPAs are trying to do the right thing.

"I am sorry this Enron thing occurred, and I have heard a few jokes," Mr. Sibley said. "But the vast majority of CPAs -- probably 250,000 of them -- don't even work for the Big Five. They are just sole proprietors out there doing everything they can to get it right."

There are 46,000 CPA firms in the United States, most of which are small offices with only a handful of accountants. Gregory W. Hext, an auditor with the Richardson firm of Chapman, Hext & Co., said the ads "could be a little more jazzy," but he also thinks the AICPA is finally on the right track.

"The CPA profession has not been very proactive, and it has been languishing and having trouble attracting young people to the profession," Mr. Hext said. "But maybe now is a good time for the AICPA to step up and really tell people who we are."

For example, he said, most CPAs are not involved with publicly traded companies such as Enron Corp.

"The problems we are seeing are in the public markets, rather than the private sector, and this represents a very small percentage of the profession, and it really isn't fair to paint everybody with the same brush."

Further, he said, the profession has changed over the years to encompass a range of business services, considerably more than just tax work.

"When I give talks, I always start off by saying, 'I am not your father's CPA,' " Mr. Hext said. "I am different. But that is the battle we are going to fight for a long time."

Mr. Pickard said historically the profession has not sought publicity or done much to try to change its image, but that is changing. He said the AICPA and the state societies of CPAs will spend about $10 million annually over the next several years on "image enhancement."

"There is just so much misperception about what CPAs do," he said. "People are amazed to find out that the FBI is one of the biggest employers of CPAs. These jokes and cartoons that you see are not reflective of what the profession is about."

-- Bill Deener